Tuesday, June 12, 2012

J/111 KASHMIR, J/109 KIII, J/105 THE ASYLUM Win Class
(Chicago, IL)- For the past several years, the Columbia Yacht Club hosts
their "Colors Regatta" as the "warm-up" for the summer offshore racing
season in Chicago. The event has continued to grow in popularity simply
because it has become the "fourth" regatta on the summer sailing
calendar locally, an important one to grind out the old rust from the
winter, tune up the boat and the crew and basically get the wheels
greased before they simply spin off the shopping trolley before you can
collect ANY silverware! Rest assured, the CYC Support Crew at this event
bend over backwards to make sure all sailors are having a fun time,
hard not to. With a wonderful dinner and entertainment Saturday night on
the afterdeck of their ship (literally!) moored on Chicago's fabulous
waterfront and a trophy presentation on the docks after Sunday's
sailing, it's hard not to enjoy the sights and sounds of sailors
enjoying the best that Chicago has to offer.

Continuing their strong sailing over the past season in the J/111 class,
the trio of Brummel/ Henderson/ Mayer on KASHMIR have continued to lead
the class, but only barely. After the first day of racing, Paul
Stahlberg's crew on MENTAL were leading the fleet with a 1-1-1-2 for 5
pts. The KASHMIR crew had managed a 3-2-2-1, showing improvement every
race. Sunday dawned with an even shiftier, crazier wind pattern from
the WNW. In the end, the KASHMIR boys led by their ever-present
Spinnaker Goddess, Karen Gottwald, managed to strike a 1-2 in the last
two races to "seal the deal", winning the regatta by 2 pts. Paul's crew
on MENTAL had a bit of a "brain fade" on Sunday, managing a 4-5 to
swing their delta from a 3 pt lead to a 2 pt loss. Steve Dabrowski's
NIGHTHAWK sailed a consistent series to grab third. Fourth was George
Miz's IMPULSE. And, J/111 newcomer Rich Witzel on ROWDY managed to be a
"spoiler" on Sunday, racking up a 2-1 to throw a curve-ball into the
class standings.

Amongst the J/109s, Irv Kerbel's team on KIII put a dent into the usual
pecking order to win by 3 pts over the rest of the madding crowd.
KIII's 1-3-2-2-2 tally for 10 pts was remarkably consistent despite the
crazy, shifty, puffy conditions the fleet experienced off the Chicago
waterfront just off the famous McCormick Place (a.k.a.- the place where
NATO members and Osama-bama recently had a chat with some protestors
nearby). Don Meyer's CERTAINLY managed two bullets, but not enough to
overcome Irv's crew, amassing just a 5-1-1-3-3 for 13 pts. Kevin
Saedi's team on MOMENTUS were always in the hunt with a 3-4-3-1-4 for 15
pts.

As the J/105 fleet continues to evolve in Chicago, new faces in the
crowd pop-out of the woodwork and put their stamp on the local fleet.
So it seemed it was the case in this regatta and time will tell if this
holds true for the balance of the Chicago NOOD Regatta, Chicago-Mackinac
Race and the Verve Cup during the season. Nevertheless, Jon Weglarz's
team on THE ASYLUM certainly showed it was NOT the "inmates running the
asylum", it was the inmates ruling the roost! Their 1-1-1 was, to say
the least, pretty good? Not bad? OK? A schooling? A spanking? Just
plain luck? Whatever one's opinion, they sailed "well".
Congratulations to the ASYLUM gang. Another up and comer was Clark
Pellet's crew on SEALARK sailing a perfect "3"- all 3rd to grab 2nd
overall. Past champs Tom & Gyt Petkus on VYTIS sailed a 4-2-5 to
snare 3rd. Mike Newman's VALHALLA was 4th and JohnnY Moore's HERE'S
JOHNNY was 5th. For more Colors Regatta sailing information